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Create More Effective, Personalized Marketing

Reach Your Customers Where They Hang Out

• Mobile Marketing Rises to 70% of Digital Spend

• Companies Using Video Marketing Show Faster Growth

• Customers Respond FasterWhen Messages Are Printed in Color

MARKETING TRENDS

Impact Response Rates With Color and Personalization

Grab Attention By Designing With

Hot Spots!

f you want to see the ultimate in personalization, watch the marketing of online retailers. While not

everything in the e-commerce world can be replicated in print, many successful techniques can be adapted.

One of the retailers open about sharing its secrets of success is Bow & Drape, a brand widely recognized for its ability to create unique, personalized experiences for its customers.

For example, Bow & Drape recently decided to launch a new customer acquisition campaign for pet lovers. Instead of buying a mailing list of people known to spend money on pets, it went to well-known pet bloggers and pet influencers instead. These influencers promoted Bow & Drape to their readers and pushed prospects into the retailer’s website.

Once people reached the website, Bow & Drape cranked up the gravitational pull. First it captured purchase data, email addresses, and physical addresses.

Then it used co-marketing with complementary brands to expand its reach. Based on what it learned about its customers’ preferences, it created “cohorts,” or marketing segments, used to further personalize future contacts.

Bow & Drape tracked the results of these data-collection and personalization efforts. ROI ranged from 2.5 to 5.0, depending on the segment.

Much of the marketing was done by email, and click-through rates were outstanding.

See chart on opposite page.

The Gathering PlaceCreate unique, personalized marketing byobserving your customers where they hang out

2 Old Trail Printing • 614.443.4852 • www.oldtrailprinting.com

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Bow & Drape also regularly looks for new ways to understand customer behavior and identify new customer segments. One of its recently targeted segments is male shoppers looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. To draw these

shoppers in, Bow & Drape created a series of quizzes and “how to” shopping guides designed to help them make the perfect selection. It then created campaigns specifically for this segment.

The payoff for such investments has been significant. Among the benefits, according to Bow & Drape:

• Increased ROI

• Increased customer loyalty

• Increased conversion rates

• Increasedstickinessofthebrand

• Higher levels of engagement

•Abilitytoshowcasemoreinventory

Marketing Lessons from Bow&DrapeLearn from this highly successful retailer. There is more than one way to find high-value prospects and to segment your customer base. Look for valuable “back door” ways to put fresh eyes on your inventory and to find creative ways to segment your database and identify new target segments. Then personalize, personalize, personalize!

It’s not only profitable, it’s fun!

*Percentage of people who clicked on one ormore links in an email message.

** Total number of clicks an email message’s links received as a percentage of subscribers.

Click-through rate* Total click-through rate**

7.82% 8.22%

16.74% 17.29%

HOT SPOTS

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Direct eye flow and grab reader attention—FAST!

1 Every marketing communication—print or electronic—has them. This is true even for

the simplest communications, such as order forms and buck

slip inserts.

2 Some hot spots are innate. Certain hot spots exist regardless of format or design. These

include the return address on the outer envelope, the greeting

or salutation in any mailer (which is why personalizing the

recipient’s name is so effective), and the P.S. in a letter.

3 Some hot spots are created. If you want to draw

the reader’s .eye, you can create your own hot spots using

techniques such as subheads, bulleted lists, and borders.

4 Identify hot spots on the envelope. These include the return address, postage corner, front and

back teaser copy, and the back flap.

5 Identify hot spots on the letter. These include the letterhead or masthead, greeting, first

sentence, first and last paragraphs, signature and title, and P.S.

You can also create hot spots in the following ways:

• Underlining copy

• Indenting copy

• Creating bulleted lists

• Using bold face copy

• Handwriting in the margins

6 On a direct mail piece, you can also create hot spots by using the following:

• Images

• Headlines and subheads

• Unusual fonts / larger font sizes

• Background colors

• Borders and callouts

Just as our eyes move left to right when we read a book or magazine, so our eyes predictably move from one place to another

when we look at a piece of direct mail, a catalog page, or the outside of an envelope.

These places are called “hot spots.” While most people may think of hot spots as public places to connect to Wi-Fi, in the design world, they are places on a printed or electronic communication where your eye goes first. Learning to direct that eye movement can reap huge benefits in your ability to grab attention and communicate your message.

Old Trail Printing • 614.443.4852 • www.oldtrailprinting.com

You can create hot spots inside the text, too. This can be done using words that naturally draw the eye, such as “YOU” and “FREE.” The recipient’s eye will also be drawn to customer testimonials, strong calls to action, and opening sentences that use strong action verbs.

You have three seconds or less to grab your reader’s attention. Make the most of them!

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The study was designed to test the effects of three variables: color versus black-and-white, the addition of simple name personalization, and the integration of more complex data, such as demographics and interests. Variables were measured both in isolation and combination.

Here are the results:

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SimplyIrresistible

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VideoAcceleratesGrowthCompanies that use video in their marketing

growrevenue 49% faster than those that don’t.

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Mobilewillaccountformorethan70%of digital marketing and more than

one-quarter of total media outlay in 2017.

Source: Vidyard/Abderdeen, “The Impact of Video Marketing”

MobileMarketingUpwardBound

Source: eMarketer, “U.S. Ad Spending: Forecast for 2017”

How do color and personalization affect response?

ave you ever wanted objective data on how varying different elements of a campaign, such as name, geographic imagery, and

marketing message, impact response rates? Case studies are great, but broader studies with objective market data are harder to come by. That’s why a study by the Rochester Institute of Technology, in conjunction with Dr. Frank Romano and one of his students, David Broudy, is so valuable.

This is an older study, but because of its depth and controlled research, it offers rare insights of which every marketer should be aware. The study was cited in an April 2017 webinar, “The Value of Color in Communication,” sponsored by Canon Solutions America.

The Romano/Broudy study was a controlled study of 36 mailings in nine categories. Four thousand pieces were sent in each mailing. The team used a mix of direct mail offers to both

businesses and consumer recipients. All mailings were professionally designed and produced.

One of the first takeaways of the study is how the addition of color has a similar impact on response rate as name personalization, a lift of 44%. While there is plenty of color in print marketing these days, the results suggest that not just using color but maximizing its use, such as by using it to enhance psychographic or demographic personalization, can demonstrably increase response.

The second takeaway is that, to maximize impact, color should not be relied on alone. It is best used in combination with other elements, such as personalization.

In your next print or integrated marketing campaign, give your selection and use of color greater consideration in the design phase. It’s more than just pretty—it’s a powerful response-boosting tool.

MAILING DETAILS RESPONSE RATE

Control Mailing: (b/w with no personalization) .46%Second Mailing: (simple name personalization) +44%Third Mailing: (full-color, no personalization) +45%Fourth Mailing: (full color, name personalization) +135%Fifth Mailing: (full-color, name personalization, +500%more complex data personalization)

Your NameHere

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Old Trail Printing 100 Fornoff Road

Columbus, OH 43207

Account Executives:(click name to contact)

Michael HeldDave HeldRick Heery

Warren JohnsonShaun White

Brenda PritchettJeff Lower

©iStockphoto.com/Klikk(gumballs);FotografiaBasica(people)

Copyright © 2017 GRCINC

Welcome to the latest issue of 1:1 Messenger. This newsletter is designed to provide you with information that will keep your 1:1 print campaigns cutting-edge and profitable.

Learn about the two most effective ways to improve response rates: color

and personalization!

AboutThisIssueDESIGNPROGRAMS InDesignCS5 AdobeIllustratorCS5 AdobePhotoshopCS5

FONTFAMILIESChaparralProGill Sans StdTFForeverTwoMarkerFelt

Source: The Pantone Institute

PeopleAreMovedbyColor

Response time is 56% faster

when messaging is printed in color.

8 Old Trail Printing•614.443.4852•www.oldtrailprinting.com

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